Pregnancy

[Quiet Things]

I am well aware of this sites stance on the breeding of guinea pigs however I am curious as to peoples experiences with guinea pig pregnancies.

Actually I think I really wanted a place to air my own feelings and tell my stories but I really would love to hear stories from others about their guinea pigs. Not just the sad ones, happy stories are always good.

Also a chance to learn from the experiences of others would always be beneficial to all.

 

[Quiet Things]

Okay I'll start off, just for future reference I am not a breeder however my pigs have bred and I have encouraged such things for various reasons however I have stopped breeding and my 18 pigs live happily now, seperated except for a male and female who have lived together for close on half a year now because each got lonely.

A brief history on my pigs.

There is Puddles, my first and foremost love. He is my first guinea pig and was a gift. At the time I got him my sister had a four year old girl, Smudge, who never became pregnant. We later adopted another female, Marshmellow, who was pregnant and so the babies began...

Three years down the track both Smudge and Marshmellow are gone but Puddles is still with us, sharing his cage with his girlfriend Teddy. We also have (girls) Streak, Cloud, Apricot, Mouse, Shadow, Velvet, Toes and Topdeck. The rest are boars and they are Cowboy, Dopey, Lambert, Dragon, Cricket, Wrinkle Bum, Mutant and Chewy Bandit. The last six live happily together in a very large house, unfortunatly Dopey and Cowboy live alone, a bad thing indeed but they do fight to kill. I have seen this happen. They do get companion time, very supervised companion time with the girls.

Hmmm... now you know a breif history of my pigs. What about a brief history of yours?

 

[Emily F.]

A brief history of my pig.

I purchased Oscar from a nice girl, Kate. Her mom and her breed their guinea pigs. Not anymore, they now want to get rid of them. I was planning on taking 2 males, but then she called me up and said that she gave one away. So I was like ok. Her mom uses animals (birds, ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, etc for a kids day camp to learn about animals.). It's a very nice camp, I went one day to see what they did. All the guinea pigs in the litter when they were born were handled for hours a day by the campers, so he was quite friendly. Now Oscar is about 7 months old, and is still a little scared of me sometimes. So I guess that's my pig's history.

 

[suzy_99]

Well, I got my girl Taz at a pet store about 2 hours away from my home. We got her because we were getting another sow from a friend who was really allergic and we didn't want her to be alone. The responsible pet owner that I thought I was, I took both girl to the vet. No problems. Well, two weeks later, Taz suddenly doubles in size. I am happy but so worried at the same time. I didn't know what I was going to do if she had 5 or 6 babies. Well the next 4 weeks were a constant worry. I needed to make sure that she had enough food, water, hay, comfortable bedding, and that there were no dangers in her cage, such as her ramp. Well the babies came in the middle of the night and everything went great. I woke up and there were two little babies in the cage. My other sow actually started crying in the middle of the night, but tired as I was I turned around and told her to be quiet. I know now that she cried because Taz was giving birth and had her stuck on the second level. Well, 3 weeks later we gave one away to a great home. He is alone, but he is a happy as I could have hoped for, he even has a huge C&C cage. We kept the other baby and named her Patches and she is just now beginning to completely trust us, but she has bonded very well with my other very dominant sow. So, now they are one big happy family.

 

[Quiet Things]

I like it when guinea pigs have babies successfully. They can be so happy about it!

 

[Krysanthemum]

Okay, I'll contribute my story, but mine isn't has happy as those.

I made the typical newbie mistake, I bought my guinea pig at a pet store, and later found out she was pregnant. I started off being freaked out, but then I was really, really excited! By then I'd done a lot of reading on this and other websites and discovered that guinea pigs need to be in pairs (at least), so I decided that I would keep at least one of the babies, if she had girls.

A month later, she was humungous! And she finally gave birth to two babies. Unfortauntely, it didn't all go as planned. The weekend before she gave birth was incredibly hot (I live in Australia so it can get pretty hot around here), and I had read that pregnant sows can't handle the heat. I put her in the coolest part of the apartment, gave her water bottles and trained the fan in her direction, but the heat must have had some effect because one of the two babies was stillborn, and the other only lived for a day and a half. I was devastated when the second baby died, I was convinced she was a girl, and would be a great friend to her mum. But it was not to be.

The baby who lived for a day and a half (I named her Peanut) was very active, but a little clumsy. She had huge feet for a baby, and kept flopping them around like a clown. When she sat up to groom her nose, she would usually overbalance and fall over. She was such a cutie, so you should have seen how much I cried when I found her dead.

Anyway, it's turned out all right because I adopted a friend for my first piggie and they live together happily now. But I would have loved to bring up a piggie from birth.

 

[ChadWPB]

...seperated except for a male and female who have lived together for close on half a year now because each got lonely.

I hope at least one of them is altered.

 

[Quiet Things]

I too have a sad story, well several becuse I bred for a while. Dont worry I have stopped now and realise what a mistake it had been. I can tell you all about the biggest litter I have ever experienced. Its a bit of a sad story.

I have a piggy called Mouse, anyway shes been a mum several times and usually has larger litters of maybe four or five. However one pregnancy she was huge, just like a beachball crossed with a pancake. If you can imagine that. We had moved her into our lounge room so we could watch her very carefully. Normally we have all the cages on our decking which is very sheltered but also allows for cool breezes and sun in the early morning in summer so they don't over heat out there. In winter we move them so they don't get too cold.

She had the comfiest bedding we could find and we kept her warm, did everything we had always done, we weren't too worried because she was a competent mum and usually knew what to do. She was on her own becuase she had started to snap at the other guinea pigs in her cage. Anyway inevitabl she had her babies, only it wasn't four or five, it was seven. And they were all fairly small. They were all born alive but in a short while two had died, I believe they were smothered trying to drink, with such a number of small babies all with the same idea (drink, drink drink) it seems a highly probable cause of death. Another one died the next day and there was one that had been getting weaker and weaker. We tried to hand feed him and tried to get him to suckle but he couldn't. He too passed away soon after. It's really devestating to find babies that have died. If you have been through it, as you have Krysathemum, then you will know what I mean.

The three left seem to be doing okay but then one started deteriorating and also went away. Happily though the two left survived and grew up to be big healthy guinea pigs who later went to a really good home.

I realise that when babies are born small and in a big litter there is a higher chance of losing one or more unless you know exactly what to do and I am ashamed to admit I didn't know exactly what to do. Mouse has had one litter since that and as I said before we have now seperated all our boars and sows. I realised breeding is not a good thing when I discovered this site and now believe that I will not breed guinea pigs but instead aim to adopt when I can.

 

[Quiet Things]

I hope at least one of them is altered.

Nope. I know thats risky but the male is... if possible, past it. He does not get interested by females any more. Thus the reason they are together. She has not become pregnant and they have been together 6 months at a minimum. I'm willing to risk it to keep them happy. They would pine for each other if they were split up.

 

[ChadWPB]

I'd have gotten the sow spayed. It can still happen, her life could be at risk.

Guinea pigs have very long gestational periods for an animal their size. Mortality among mothers and the young is very high.

I strongly recommend a spay. Even if you think the male is "past it", he may surprise you. And your sow, too.

 

[Quiet Things]

I am aware of a guinea pigs gestational period and also that I could be surprised however they are both older guinea pigs and I am also aware that surgery can sometimes be the worse option. Her life is at risk no matter the choice, as is his. I believe in spaying/nuetering if there is a real risk. But sometimes guinea pigs, as with other animals, sometimes lose the ability to become pregnant or to impregnante. Someone will no doubt come along and try to prove that wrong but in my experience it has happened. This male has lived with other females of the same age as the one he is with now and they have not become pregnant. It is a risk and I know it but surgery is not a risk I am going to take with either of the boar or sow.

 

[ChadWPB]

Eh? I've had four pigs out of six neutered or spayed. They're all happy and healthy. With a competent vet, the chance of problems with surgery is less than that of a pregnancy. MUCH less.

Read this thread on Guinea Lynx. It is one horror story of many, a sow who suffered and died due to pregnancy. I could probably find a hundred more like it.

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19950

In this world of overpopulation and euthanasia (it is estimated that 100,000 guinea pigs get a cold needle to the belly every year), I find your actions highly irresponsible.

 

[Quiet Things]

I know you do, and I'm sure that many others do to. Would you like me to find the horror stories of a spaying or neutering gone wrong? what about my own experiences? There is no way to make some people happy, especially when they cannot accept that it is for the animals greater good.

 

[ChadWPB]

Greater good? Like possibly breeding your sow again?

This is a highly anti-breeding forum, run by a rescuer. Expect to find resistance when you talk about breeding your pigs and housing intact males and females together.

Mortality is 20% for breeding sows. Spays and neuters, when done by a competent vet (that's the part YOU control, YOU pick the vet!) have a mortality of less than 1%. Sadly, one has little or no control to how a pregnancy comes through.

Spaying and neutering pigs has become more popular. It is becoming easier to find a good vet. It should be considered.

Want my experience? Back in the 1980's, we prurchased a pregnant sow from a flea market. She had one pup, which turned out to be a boar. She got pregnant again, this time had two pups, both boars. We had pulled the new boars out in time, but the original baby back-bred the mom for a 3rd litter, five pups, one of them stillborn. Rosie, the mother only survived for about another year. She wasn't even 2 when she died. Died likely to intensive breeding by a young and stupid owner. I still feel guilty TWENTY years later. I killed poor sweet Rosie.

And you wonder why I reacted the way I did. And that's why almost all my pigs are spayed or neutered.

 

[Quiet Things]

I know it should be, and it has. But like I said, there is little to no chance of her becoming pregnant. I know you will not believe that, and you will think I am an ignorant fool. I also know this is a site against breeding, but as I will tell anyone, I have bred before. Intentionally. I also know about morality rates. My guinea pigs are happy, they are healthy and they are not pregnant and havent been for over six months. A guinea pigs gestational period is 62 - 70 days. Meaning my sow could have been pregnant numerous times. i know that just because she hasn't been pregnant in these 6 months doesn't mean she wont get pregnant but anyone who knows anything on breeding will tell you that age also plays a large part in pregnancy. Often if a guinea pig becomes pregnant at a late age their body will terminate the pregnancy very early on because it cannot cope. This rarely affects the sow.

 

[Quiet Things]

I'm sorry for your loss,really. But that is being very hard on yourself. I know intensive breeding can shorten a life span but it is important to remember that guinea pigs dont generally have long lifespans such as a cat or dog might. I too have lost guinea pigs early on in life, boars who were 1 to 2 years. They did not die of any foreseeable cause, nor any cause that was apparent. They were not ill, were not injured, had correct nutrition. They just, died.

 

[ChadWPB]

But that is being very hard on yourself.

Yes, but I was much harder on the poor sow.

I still disagree. I've never read anywhere about older sows terminating pregnancies early. I know that the tendons in older sows hips stiffen, making birth difficult or impossible. That is biological fact.

Why risk your sow's life, should she not terminate a pregnancy? I still think it is irresponsible.

 

[Quiet Things]

Perhaps it is but give me another option besides spaying/neutering. The male fights with our other boars and it is very difficult to place the sow with our other sows as she is so used to her male companion. I don't want either to be alone but I don't want to risk either being injured in a fight.

There is no way you can be certain it was intensive breeding that killed Rosie. But truly I understand what you mean when you feel responsible. But please, don't blame yourself. It was not your fault.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Guinea pigs can live up to 8 years. Pregnancy can shorten and risk that life span.

You can't breed your animals and not be labeled a breeder legitimately. There's no guarantee that your sow will not get pregnant or your boar cannot do the deed even if they haven't so far.

I'm sorry for your loss,really. But that is being very hard on yourself. I know intensive breeding can shorten a life span but it is important to remember that guinea pigs dont generally have long lifespans such as a cat or dog might. I too have lost guinea pigs early on in life, boars who were 1 to 2 years. They did not die of any foreseeable cause, nor any cause that was apparent. They were not ill, were not injured, had correct nutrition. They just, died.

 

[Katie]

Guinea pigs can live up to 8 years. Pregnancy can shorten and risk that life span.

You can't breed your animals and not be labeled a breeder legitimately. There's no guarantee that your sow will not get pregnant or your boar cannot do the deed even if they haven't so far.

::shaking head in agreement::
Boars can be neutered. It's much easier and less of a risk to have them done. I know many shelters which have started altering every single guinea pig before it leaves their care, and they haven't had any problems.

Speaking from experience-
I had a 6 year old boar in a cage next to my 3 year old sow. They had lived like that for 3 years and one day I came home and he was in her cage, she was in heat and he jumped 14" over the grid into her cage. She got pregnant. She died.

I also had someone surrender two pigs (a breeder), she said she has had them together for a little over a year and no babies, they were no longer "USEFUL". Well, two months later she delivered 5 pups.

Don't say it can't happen, because it can, and if it does and she gets pregnant and/or dies, it is your fault. It's your fault for causing something that could have been prevented.